2022 Cooperstown Hall of Fame Ballot

Author: Spencer Reyes

It’s that time of the year for baseball fans where not a lot is happening in the baseball world. While some key players are signing with their respective teams for the 2022 season, 30 former MLB all-stars are waiting to hear their name called on July 24th. 17 players will return on the ballot, which are headlined by Barry Bonds, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens, who are all on their last year of eligibility on the ballot unless they play another season in the MLB to reset their clock. The other returning players are Scott Rolen, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, Todd Helton, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, Manny Ramirez, Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu, and Tim Hudson. 13 new athletes will get a chance to be enshrined in Cooperstown, and it will be the beginning of many superstars who will clog up the Hall of Fame Ballot. The new players consist of Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, Tim Lincecum, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan, David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon, Jake Peavy, A.J. Pierzynski, Jimmy Rollins, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira.

For those who don’t know, former MLB ballplayers need to have 15 years of MLB service, must be retired for at least 5 years, have 75% of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in order to qualify for Cooperstown. Here is the kicker, each voter from the BBWAA can only vote for 10 people on the list, and you don’t have to vote for 10 people, that is just the maximum. This rule keeps athletes on the ballot for prolonged periods of time. You can also only be on the ballot for 10 years, and I personally don’t think any of the 4 names I listed before will have at least 75% of the vote, especially with big names like Big Papi, A-Rod, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Howard joining the mix. I truly believe David Ortiz will get inducted this year, along with the possibilities of Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard either barley making or missing the cut. I’m not sure if Rodriguez will get enough voters to cast their ballot for him. All members of the BBWAA are writers and are part of the media. A-Rod was not received well during his time in the MLB by the media. He was very demanding behind the scenes and was linked to steroid usage, which has held back Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGuire. He has a better chance than the others at being inducted within his 10-year range, but I don’t think he will be a first ballot hall of famer. All we can do as baseball fans is wait until December 31st. Not only will it be New Year’s Eve, but it is the deadline for the BBWAA members to vote and send in their ballots. Stay tune3d to the Sport Universe as more baseball related news unfolds!

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How can the Mets replace Noah Syndergaard?

Author: Frank Caggino

The main reason the Mets stayed in first place for over 100 days, was how well their starting pitching performed. One of the reasons the Mets were not able to get back in first place, is the starting pitching did not perform well. Jacob deGrom got hurt, Carlos Carrasco underperformed, Tylor Megill was inconsistent, and the other starting pitchers have a history of being injured. Noah Syndergaard was injured most of the season and only pitched two innings. Acquiring starting pitching depth should be a top priority for the Mets this offseason. It seemed like Noah Syndergaard was going to stay with the Mets after expressing how much he wanted to be a Met. But as always with the Mets, nothing is as it seems.

Noah Syndergaard ended up signing a one-year 21 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. This deal was only three million more than the qualifying offer of 18.4 million that the New York Mets offered Syndergaard. What is concerning about Noah leaving the Mets, is according to multiple reports, he did not tell the Mets he was going to be signing with the Angels due to their better offer. The Mets will get a compensatory draft pick and an extra 18.4 million to spend on other free agents.

The main free agent the Mets should use the Syndergaard money on is Marcus Stroman. He was one of the pitchers that were pitching great when the Mets were in first place. When deGrom got hurt, Stroman was the only consistently productive starting pitcher the Mets had and finished ninth in ERA. Stroman is looking for a big payday and now the Mets have more money to potentially re-sign him. Even if the Mets do keep Marcus, they still need more starting pitching.

Fortunately for the Mets, there are plenty of available free-agent starting pitchers. Max Scherzer is not coming to the Mets, the realistic options to pursue besides Stroman are Kevin Gausman, Carlos Rodon, Robbie Ray. The one concern about these pitchers is 2021 was their first great year. They are going to have high asking prices as well which can make it risky to sign them. If the Mets do keep Stroman, adding Jon Gray or Anthony Descalfini would be nice additions as they are solid pitchers at a lower price.

The Mets need to sign one big starter and at least one or more depth pieces for the rotation. Getting a draft pick is also a big deal for a farm system that is top-heavy and depleted. Maybe Noah Syndergaard is not the same pitcher anymore and the Mets will end up being lucky he did not re-sign. But as we know, the Mets do not normally get lucky.

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Where Does Kershaw End Up in 2022?

On Sunday, November 10th, the MLB set the deadline for qualifying offers. Players like Brandon Belt, Michael Conforto, and Trevor Story have all received qualifying offers from their respective teams for the 2022 MLB season. A qualifying offer is a standard $18.4 million, one-year deal that is usually offered to a player when a team can’t afford to pay them more, or the player isn’t worth too much. This can give players like Marcus Stroman, the chance to prove why they need more money. The 3-time Cy Young award winner, Clayton Kershaw was not given a QO this past week. His teammates Chris Taylor and Corey Seager were both offered to come back and play for the Dodgers in 2022 under a qualifying offer contract. Doing so will allow the Dodgers to receive compensation draft picks if they choose to sign with another team. The 33-year MLB veteran has had injury struggles between his back, forearm, and bicep from the past 6 years. This is probably why LA has not resigned him just yet. The Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman stated, “We’ve made it very clear that if Kershaw wants to come back, he will always have a spot”. Does this actually mean Kershaw will receive an offer going into the 2022 season? The LA Times have said that Kershaw should retire, and he is done for his career. The Athletic thinks the Rangers should pursue him. Texas still must decide if they will resign Jordan Lyles or Mike Foltynewicz back to their rotation. If Kershaw signs with them, I could only imagine that it would be a 3–4-year deal. Texas may or may not have learned when they signed Corey Kluber in 2020. He gave them one inning of work, then became a great pitcher again this past season in the Bronx. Does Kershaw try to stay with the Dodgers? Will he jump ship to the other side of LA and help the dreading Angels fans who want to see Mike Trout have some backup? Will he become the ace of the Rangers and stay in the spotlight like Zack Greinke, or will he fall down hard like his former Freeway Series counterpart, Madison Bumgarner? Whatever choice he makes, we are waiting to see where the 8-time all-star decides to call home for 2022.

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